Silver Web
by false sourires
Summary: Shishido is the new student at Hyoutei. He has no idea about the problems that lurk there. Specifically in eight indivduals. Part of the Beacon universe.
1. Transfers

**Disclaimer:**** Prince of Tennis does not belong to me.**

* * *

**Silver Web**

* * *

Shishido Ryou huffed, kicking a can out into the street. Today was the first stinking day at his new school Hyoutei. A school for the extremely rich and pompous, neither of which he was. Stupid scholarships. Baka guardians. _We just want the very best for you_. HA. Sure. They were just happy they didn't have to pay a dime, where any other school would have cost them. Sure as hell, he didn't know how he'd gotten a high enough score on the exams to qualify for the 'prestigious academy'. The counselor's words, not his. He must have done incredibly well from the way the counselor was dancing around, and the principal himself had shown up and tried to convince him to stay, before he found out about the offer from Hyoutei. Having a student from their school recruited into one of the top junior academies was too much free publicity to be passed up.

Shishido would rather have stayed at the half-assed junior high school; he'd already had a year and a half invested there. But '_Otou-san_' was transferring to Tokyo and the family was moving with him, so it didn't matter in the end. So here he was starting his first day at a new school a quarter of the way into his second year. Scholarship parameters dictating he not get below all A's and one high B, participating in an afterschool activity to boot. As soon as he figured out where their kendo or judo club was, he was signing up. There had to be some high point to attending this haughty school. He already predicted the school was going to involve a lot of studying. Hmph. Shishido loathed moving.

……………..

Atobe sat back in his limousine, primping in the portable mirror he kept handy. He couldn't let down his adoring fans down after all. Kabaji sat across from him. There was no way he was going to let the boy go to school on his own; he was to shy for his own health. Other students had taken advantage of that the previous year when they attended different schools, which Atobe did not find out about until the year was half over. They learned the hard way to never cross a wizard's friend, though they had no clue he was a wizard. So Kabaji was firmly integrated into the circle of people Atobe cultivated, namely other non-humans at the school.

The limousine pulled to a stop in front of the school. Kabaji grabbed both of their bags getting out of the limousine first. Atobe waited until he nodded, and left the vehicle. There were no squeals from pepped up cheerleaders, only the most dedicated showed up for the morning tennis practice. While Atobe lavished in the attention of his adoring fans, it was nice to walk in the silence of the morning before his team ruined it. Already in the courtyard he could hear the hum of their incessant talking. Today they were going to run, and the regulars would play, while he made the choices for that weekend's game.

A piercing screech called out to them in the morning air. Kabaji looked upward as the falcon sped past them. Atobe stared at his Rolex. Strolled up the path to the observance area where he could look down at the courts. Gazed down, seeing all his club members goofing off in the absence of their bucho. Snapping his fingers to amplify his voice a tiny bit.

"Thirty laps!"

Freezing what they were doing, the members of the tennis club all looked up at him. Then started, jogging to the track. Except for the group behind him who gave him varying looks from different positions. Oshitari was the first one to bring himself forward, drawling,

"So what would you like us to do Atobe?"

"Oshitari and Ohtori against Hiroshi and Taki."

Oshitari raised an eyebrow at him. Atobe looked down his nose towards the stairs Gakuto was running up.

"Gakuto. Fifty laps."

"What? Why?"

The startled red head glared at him.

"You were ten minutes late to practice."

Gakuto's eyes narrowed.

"So were you!"

"Sixty laps."

Gakuto floundered turning several shades of red. Taki smothered a laugh. Ohtori avoided looking at his sempai. Oshitari hid a smirk grabbing his doubles partner and dragging him down the stairs. Kabaji approached him as they left. His presence a question.

"Wake up Jiroh. It's been awhile since you two played."

"Usu."

Kabaji nodded going over to the bench where the sleeping boy laid. Instead of attempting to wake him up, Kabaji threw the boy over his shoulder and headed down the stairs. Once on court Jiroh always managed to wake up. Atobe stared at the courts below for several minutes observing his teammates before heading to the locker rooms. There were matches to be arranged for the next tournament against Seigaku, and there was no way Hyoutei was going to lose. A smug vampire was intolerable, but even more so an emboldened lycan.

Entering the locker room, Atobe headed to the separate office for the Bucho of the team, only to see Sakaki-sensei sitting in the guest chair going over at his notes on Seigaku. Atobe observed him for a full moment, but didn't receive any acknowledgment. Lazily he strolled forward and sat in his chair facing Sakaki-sensei. Being the only registered wizard in the school, Sakaki-sensei drew a lot of prestige, from the magic using community, especially being a certified Adept, earning him a lot of envy from his fellow wizards and the mandatory attention of all fledgling wizards at Hyoutei. Making him the only person who had a guaranteed bully pass from Atobe, at his father's orders no less. Sakaki-sensei was hardly averse to using it either.

"Hmmm…Seigaku appears to be stronger than last year, though not quite at Hyoutei standard _yet_. Given another year and they might be. I wonder about who you'll choose to send. Of course, you will play Tezuka-san, but should you let Gakuto participate? He is over excitable about these games."

Atobe looked coolly at sensei.

"I am aware of that, but Seigaku seems to be building a formidable double's team, and alas Gakuto and Oshitari are the best doubles team we have. Hyoutei does not seem to attract those that are willing to share glory."

"Ah. A problem that the bucho of the team should fix no doubt. Let him play then."

Sakaki set the papers down on the desk elegantly. Atobe narrowed his eyes.

"Ore-sama would like to know your reason for being here Sakaki-sensei."

Sakaki raised an eyebrow, cleaning imaginary dirt from his nails.

"The ore-sama is getting tiring, Atobe-kun. What reason should I have for not being here? I am the sensei of the team. In case you've forgotten."

Atobe copied Sakaki's cynical expression.

"Ah, but the thing is when do you ever show up, _Sensei_? So Ore-sama supposes he did forget. Is there something the _team_ can do for you?"

Sakaki leaned back in his chair, a small frown in his eyes.

"For the attitude you're pulling, I'm tempted to make _you_ do this project. But fortunately for you, I don't want the young man exposed to your 'charming personality'. At least not until he's settled in."

Finally, Sakaki-sensei was getting to the point. Atobe sat up straighter. Another club member? _As if there weren't enough of them. _

"So what would you like Ore-sama to do? Give the boy a tour of the courts and put him into practice with the majority of the members? I'll have Gakuto do it."

Sakaki grinned mirthfully at Atobe's displeasure. _It was so tempting to make him do it._

"No. I need to borrow one of the Regular's to show a new transfer student around. _Not Gakuto._ I don't want the boy lost on the first day."

Atobe scanned Sakaki-sensei for a long moment.

"Why exactly do you need a Regular to show a new student around? I'm sure one of the lower club members would work just as well."

Sakaki sighed.

"As their position as elite members of the most prestigious club at Hyoutei all Regular's should be exemplarily role models. Alas, we both know that is not to be. Still it would be a good show of faith."

"I repeat: why does a Regular have to do it?"

Sakaki stared at calculating for a moment.

"No reason really. I just get the sense that it should be a Regular. It would be better as events fall out."

"He is one of ours?"

"No."

"An Other?"

"I doubt it."

"Then why does it have to be a Regular?"

"I told you: it would be to our benefit to approach him right away. But I honestly can't find a connection to our world. It may be a stray future occurrence increased by his proximity to us. Moreover, other Sensei have been complaining about how the tennis Regulars having too much freedom. Either way I already told the principal one of the Regular's would do it, so get someone over to the office before he gets here,"

Atobe glowered. Why did Otou-san make him follow Sakaki-sensei's orders? Sakaki got up gracefully. Atobe followed suit.

"I'll see you in music class this afternoon Atobe-kun."

"Can I say the same about you for tennis practice Sakaki-sensei?"

"We'll see. There are afterschool tutorials after all. But good try."

Atobe's eye twitched. Adepts were more annoying than sadistic bloodsuckers and smug oversized dogs on a good day. On a bad day they were intolerable. Leaving his office, he walked out of the club heading to the rails. Watched his team playing. It would have to be someone skilled in dealing with people. So not Jiroh, Hiyoshi, Taki or Kabaji. Leaving Oshitari or Ohtori. Gakuto didn't even cross his mind.

"Ohtori! Off the courts. Ore-sama wants you up here. Oshitari! Go get Gakuto. He'll finish the set with you."

Oshitari, Taki and Hiyoshi stared up at him frowning. Ohtori looked confused and nervous. Slowly he walked off court and jogged up the steps. In the meantime, Atobe watched Oshitari set his racket down and go off to get Gakuto.

"Is something wrong, Bucho?"

The first-year looked ready to panic, clearly nervous he'd done something wrong. He reminded Atobe of a puppy.

"No. Sakaki-sensei needs someone to show a new student around. Ore-sama volunteered you. So go to the main office immediately, Sakaki-sensei doesn't want to make the new boy wait. You won't have to make up practice later. Go."

"HAI Bucho."

Unquestionably a puppy Atobe thought, as the freshman looked at him with wide eager eyes, jogging off to the office, excited to show the new student around. All that was missing was the wagging tail. Perfect choice for a new student. He had paperwork to get back too.

………………………………………………………….

Shishido glared at the ceiling. He was sitting in a chair outside of the secretary's office. Figures. He'd shown up early hoping to grab his schedule so he could find his way around before classes started. Avoiding attention as much as possible. Only to ask the secretary for his schedule and been told to wait until his 'guide' showed up. Her steely glare kept him from arguing with her. Instead he settled for snatching the schedule she'd pulled out and sprawling out in the nearest chair where he'd been glaring at the wall for the past fourteen minutes. A guide. They probably wouldn't be here until just before classes started which would mean he would enter the room late, and have to introduce himself to the class. Great.

"Um, excuse me. I'm supposed to be showing the new student around. Do you know when he'll be here?"

Shishido snapped out of his reverie. Regarded the tall boy talking to the secretary who was pointing at him. Damn. He'd been too caught in glaring at the wall he hadn't seen the boy come in. As the boy walked toward him smiling, Shishido got up. At least he shouldn't be late for class now. The boy seemed like the easily shaken off type.

"Hi. I'm Ohtori Chotarou. Sensei asked me to show you around the school. Is there any particular place you would like to see first?"

Shishido blinked disturbed by the boy's eagerness.

"Yeah. I'd like to know where my classroom is."

Ohtori's eyes widened, his mouth forming a big O.

"I'm sorry. What year are you? Class number?"

Shishido looked at the schedule in his hands.

"I'm a second year. Class 2-A. But I have a music session in room 4-A."

As he looked up he caught a look at the boy's wide eyes. Okay. What was wrong with those classes?

"What's up? Something I should know?"

The boy shook his head quickly.

"Oh no. no. It's just you must be really smart to get into the A classes. Those are only for the elite among the grades. "

Oh shit. He was in the smart class. Target number one. The boy seemed to realize his train of thought.

"No, it's not a bad thing. I'm in class 1-A myself! In fact some of my teammates are in class 2-A. 'A' class students are the school's idols. Everyone wants to be in the A class. It's a big deal at Hyoutei."

Shishido closed his eyes. Nothing the boy was saying was reassuring him. He had a really bad feeling about this year. Ohtori again seemed to read his mind and decided to distract him.

"Here, let's go find your classroom. The cafeteria is on the way and some of the club buildings it will be useful for you to know."

Shishido just nodded his head, allowing himself to be lead around. He really, really hated moving.

* * *

Hmmmm, just how bad will Shishido's day be? Will Sakaki show up to practice?

**Silver Web** is part of the same universe as **Beacon** and **Awakening**. It's just Hyoutei tale instead. It takes place in Atobe's second year of junior high. A year after **Awakening**.

Side note: Hopefully the next chapter of Beacon or Awakening should be up sometime next week. I would like to post one chapter of either **Silver Web, Beacon **or** Awakening** once a week if I can, so they might intertwine with each other a lot.

Thanks for Reading.

Please Review,

False Sourires


	2. Seats

**Silver Web**

* * *

_First Period- Advanced Trigonometry._

_Second Period- Classical Japanese._

_Third Period- Exploratory Interpretations of History._

_Fourth Period- Intermediate English I._

_Fifth Period-Lunch._

_Sixth Period- Classical Music II. Room 4-A._

_Seventh Period- Intermediate Physics._

_Eighth Period- Intermediate German I._

Clenching fists, Shishido tightly closed his eyes. Why exactly did all of the classes have the words advanced or intermediate in front of them? Even the ones that didn't sounded hard. Lunch appeared to be his only slide by class. Where the heck was physical education? That had always been his easy subject. Guess all these rich preppies thought it beneath them to sweat. Shoot. He should have asked Ohtori. Figures. He'd spent the better part of an hour trying to get rid of the kid, and now that he was actually gone he had questions. And his assumption about the kid had been wrong; he was far from easily shaken off. Almost like a puppy intent on playing fetch.

Ohtori had insisted on showing him three floors of the four story school building. One floor devoted to each grade, and the fourth to the sensei. Of course, that was after Ohtori had guided him through the administration building, the cafeteria (five star restaurant), two of the three courtyards, the music building, and the athletic building which housed an Olympic sized swimming pool. Best of all, Ohtori apologized profusely for not showing him any of the outdoor areas where the sports clubs gathered. Students had begun to cover the campus, and Ohtori said they would all be doing morning practices. After that, Shishido had asked him where Class 2-A was, under the excuse that he could prep for class. The kid gave off a people pleaser aura, and Shishido had come to the conclusion he wouldn't understand alone time. Enough so, that he hadn't responded when Ohtori had promised to show him the clubs after school. Shishido planned to be gone by then.

Upon entering the empty classroom, he'd briefly scouted the rows before running up the stairs and choosing a seat near the window in the back row. Perfect. The middle row was the best for remaining invisible to everyone, but it also meant being stuck among the chit-chatters. Front row was out of the question. Leaving the back row. Only problem, class clowns congregated in the back row. Oh well. _I can deal with those just fine_.

"Ha-ha. Did she really say that to Take-kun?"

"Hai! I couldn't believe it either."

Laughter erupted, as the door shuffled open. A large clique of girls streamed in. Grrreat…At least they didn't seem to notice him as they walked to their seat. In the middle of the classroom. Slitting his eyes open his appreciation for the window grew. It's potential as an escape route was invaluable. Closing his eyes as he laid his head on the desk, he heard the door slide open again. Male voices this time. Clubs must be getting out. Hearing the girls' voices hush, he cringed. That meant one thing: crushes. Fangirls. He was especially glad that he hadn't come in late now. Mysterious transfer students were targets for their l_ove_. Shrill squealing caused his eyes to snap open.

"Ah, quiet. Quiet now. Ore-sama is grateful for your love, but we have to remember we're in a classroom. Leave the cheering until we're outside."

An arrogant prat bellowed. Ignoring his own words about the noise. Shishido's eye twitched. One last squeal was made before the girls started throwing compliment s at the baka. He sauntered up the steps and took a seat in the dead center of the class. Behind the braggart was a cluster of male groupies, who rolled their eyes at his attitude. Everyone meandered over to their seats, but didn't stop laughing and joking with one another. The Prima Dona primped himself to the girls' amusement. Whatever. As long as he continued to remain invisible to everyone he would ignore it.

Dong. Dong. Dong.

A large bell sounded the time. Peering at the front room he noticed everyone had finally settled into their seats, with only one empty seat left in the front row. The front desk was empty. Wasn't the sensei supposed to get there before the students? At any rate, the girls had finally stopped squealing amongst themselves, and instead had taken out their notebooks. Grimacing he glanced somewhat nervously at his own notebook. He didn't have any of the assigned textbooks yet, and wouldn't until the end of the week. According to the principal. They were also only giving him that time to find a club to join. Thinking back to his schedule, he wondered if any of these kids would willingly participate in an activity that meant getting hurt. Shit.

SLAM.

"Atobe you bastard, just because you're bucho of the tennis club doesn't mean you have the right to make me clean the courts! I was almost late for class!"

A glowering red head yelled red faced.

"Actually Gakuto…it does. You are late. Fifty laps after practice this evening for disturbing the beautiful young ladies in this class with your crass language."

The Prima Don-ATOBE- stated smugly. He was a bucho…Who the heck would give a conceited head case that responsibility? Were all the tennis club members this freakish? Mental Note: Avoid those freaks. A shadow fell over his seat, so disinterestedly he glanced up at the cause. Awww….spoke too soon. It was the red head weirdo glaring at him.

"Hmmm…Do you want something?"

"Hai…my seat. You're sitting in it."

Feigning boredom, Shishido examined the desk, and then the chair he was sitting in. Finally he shrugged his shoulders.

"Sorry. Don't see your name on it. You must be mistaken. There's a desk open up front."

Pointing towards the seat, he barely managed to suppress a smirk at the expression on the red head's face.

"You…You…Get out of my seat! I don't sit up front. Ever. Newbie."

Acting a bit confused, Shishido put his hand on his chin.

"The seat is really yours? You actually went out and bought a chair identical to every other one in the room? Seriously?"

Spluttering, rage flashed in the red head's eyes.

"No!"

"Then go sit down up front."

Shishido added part cheerfully, part steely.

"Who do you think you are? Because someone needs to teach you the ropes around here Newbie."

"Shishido Ryou. I already have a tour guide, thank you. And you would be…?"

"MUKAHI-kun! Take a seat now!"

Yelled the Sensei who had just walked in. Mukahi seemed to stumbled a moment before throwing a glare at Shishido.

"But Ochai- sensei, I can't. This kid's in my seat!"

Ochai-sensei frowned up at them.

"Oh really? Does it have your name on it?"

"N-no."

Muffled laughter could be heard in room.

"Then sit down Mukahi-kun, before I give you detention."

Ochai-sensei threatened, pointing at the open seat up front. Mukahi glared at him before huffing his way down towards the front. Waiting until he took his seat, Ochai-sensei returned his attention to Shishido.

"I'm sorry for that. Gakuto-kun is not the best example of our school, please excuse him. You must be the new student. Would you like to come up front and introduce yourself?"

Before Shishido could retort with a 'no, but thanks anyways', the Prima Dona spoke up.

"I don't think that is necessary, Ochai-sensei. Shishido-san was just introducing himself before you arrived."

A smug tone accompanied the sparkling eyes that stared at him in bemusement. Oh for Kami's sake…The prat was laughing at him. Clenching his teeth, Shishido nodded at Ochai-sensei's questioning look. Today was going to be horrible.

……………………………………………………………………………

"Kabaji, the special. Patio today I think."

Atobe stated, having Kabaji go and grab their lunches, while he ambled out onto the outdoor patio overlooking the gardens. Currently, it was empty. Allowing him a moment to breathe in the scented air and enjoy the peace and quiet that had been absent that morning. Hyoutei was a very traditional school, in the modern sense. Everything had an order, and had to be arranged in just the right way or feathers would be ruffled. Literally, in Gakuto's case. Seemed as if the new student didn't adhere to this rule, or was planning on bulldozing his way through it. Keeping in mind his conversation with Sakaki-sensei earlier that morning, he wondered what it would mean.

"Oshitari. Remind Ore-sama to check out the transfer student's record later."

"You heard me? Haah...I figured you would want his file, so I stopped by the principal's office."

Flap.

A small file appeared next to him. He nodded, indicating he would read it later.

"No. Your softening spell was well done. I hadn't realized you were at the level where you could apply it to sound already. Ore-sama would recognize it though. Otou-san taught it to me a couple years past. Where are the others?"

Snorting, he could feel Oshitari shaking his head.

"Some fangirls are feeding Jiroh sweets, but he'll be here soon. Taki and Hiroshi are grabbing lunch with Kabaji I assume. Ohtori and Gakuto are searching for the transfer student."

Twisting his head about a bit to look at Oshitari.

"Why is Ohtori looking for him?"

"I presume it has something with you telling him to guide the new student around."

"Ah. Where did Shishido-san head off to?"

A calculated moment of silence met him.

"He disappeared before I could lay a proper tracking spell on him. However, analyzing his behavior from class, I would say an isolated place. Most likely the roof tops."

"Mmm."

Dexterously flexing his fingers, a large gust of air blew through the school. A falcon cried out in irritation as it was blown off course, and forced to land.

"Inform your partner that Ore-sama doubled the amount of laps he needs to run this afternoon."

"Understood."

"What are you two talking about?"

Jiroh piped up. Atobe's right eye twitched. He was the only one who could sneak up on him.

"Ore-sama doubled Gakuto's punishment."

"Oh…Isn't the new student cool? Did you see how he blew Gakuto off? He's hilarious, Atobe. Ohtori's showing him around right? That means he's going to join the club. I want to play him. Please, please let me play him bucho."

Jiroh babbled on excitedly. Ending his statement with puppy dog eyes aimed at Atobe. There was just no in between for the boy; either he was comatose or on a sugar high.

"Jiroh…What did Ore-sama say about accepting sweets from the club's cheerleaders?"

"Never accept them, unless someone checks them with a poison detection spell first! And Hiroshi-chan checked them for me. Mmm….they were so yummy!"

Turning fully around, Atobe frowned at the excited sage.

"Ore-sama is confident he said no such thing. But at least you checked for that."

Jiroh shrugged his shoulders seemingly innocent, while Hiroshi, Taki and Kabaji walked in with their lunches.

"So can I play him?"

"Perhaps, if you listen to your bucho."

A snort, poorly covered up by coughing met Atobe's statement. Taki just grinned at him unabashedly.

"I didn't know Shishido-san would be joining tennis. Figured him for more of a basketball or soccer club type."

Atobe looked down his nose at Taki, eyes pinched together.

"Who wouldn't want to be part of the most highly sought after tennis team in Tokyo? However Ore-sama hasn't been informed if he will be joining our team or not. Sakaki-sensei didn't specify what club he was interested in. Ohtori should be able to tell us when he shows up."

"Ahhh….I thought he'd be cool to play."

Jiroh pouted, perching himself on a bench and proceeding to fall asleep. Oshitari regarded the scene with bemusement. First lesson of wizardry: If you don't know the answer or are wrong, intimidate everyone else until they concede that you are more knowledgeable then them. Hiroshi frowned at his senpai already eating his lunch much to the irritation of his bucho.

"Who's Shishido? And why are we talking about what clubs he might be joining?"

Oshitari answered him.

"He's a second year transfer student. Atobe had Ohtori show him around this morning. We figured it was because he wanted to join the tennis club."  
Hiroshi nodded, frowning at the information.

"So if he isn't interested in the tennis club, why did Ohtori have to show him around? Is he one of ours?"

Everyone, even the half-asleep Jiroh, looked at Atobe who was busy inspecting his fingernails.

"Sakaki-sensei says he isn't."

Oshitari cleaned his glasses.

"So why is a regular of the tennis team guiding him around?"

Reverting to a commoner gesture, Atobe shrugged his shoulders.

"Evidently the coaches for the other clubs have been taking note of favoritism going to the tennis club, particularly the Regulars. As a sign of this being to the contrary, Ore-sama sent Ohtori to guide the new student around campus. "

Concluding his statement, Atobe snapped his fingers and took a place at the table on the patio. Kabaji set his plate of food in front of him, as the rest of the Regulars took spots at the table. All except Jiroh who was busy napping. Or at least appeared to be, until he declared,

"Shishido-san is significant. In the future he will be an invaluable asset to us if we befriend him. If not…."

Soft snoring drowned out whatever he had planned on saying next. They all paused thinking about what his words might mean.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Laying in the shade, Shishido scowled with closed eyes. School was a nightmare. Or hell. Were they even comparable? First day and he'd done what any good student would do….made an enemy for life…or junior high…same deal for the moment. As fun as riling the redhead had been, he was sure the baka would find a way to retaliate. And he had the advantage of knowing his territory. Whereas Shishido was walking around blind.

Each class was a pain too. History was the only class a Sensei hadn't expected them to pull out a book for reference in; and that was only because they were supposed to be reading it at home. Grating his teeth every time the sensei had asked him where his books were, he had responded that his order of books wouldn't be in until the next week. Tsking, the sensei would say it was alright they supposed. And every time the entire class's attention would be on him. Especially the smirking redhead's. Which further grated on his nerves. Just as he'd thought, every class was difficult. Ohtori hadn't been kidding when he'd said only the smartest kids were in the class. Making Shishido wonder how the redhead had gotten in.

At his old school, they had only started learning German, having focused on English the previous year. Not that German was giving him problems since it was one of the three languages he spoke fluently. English on the other hand was beyond irritating. And only years of watching American action movies had allowed him to be up to the level of his new class. Of course, most of them didn't understand the slang or terms he used, and vice versa. Interpretative History required a superior knowledge of Japanese history, and an avid interest in it. Neither of which he had, but not to worry; he B.S.'d his way through it. Though a few people were hiding their laughter at his interpretations of events. Thank Kami the redhead wasn't one of them. Shishido had a feeling he was horrible at history too. To top it all off, there was math. A subject he was usually good at. After ten minutes of lecture, he'd completely cleaned his hands of it.

And here he was now: laying on the floor of the roof listening to his stomach growl. He hadn't packed a lunch, and after the morning tour, had come to the conclusion his allowance could not afford him eating there. Tomorrow he'd grab something before leaving the house. If he could connive his Okaa-san into letting him do the shopping for her, he could pack his outo with a lunch too. No way would she ever do it for either of them. For sure, he would have to start waking up a lot earlier to get that done. Ugh. Tonight he had wanted to do a work out, so he would have to wait to go shopping.

Opening his eyes at a shrieking cry, he saw a bird, falcon; get blown off course by a strong gust of wind. Why was a predatory bird in a residential area like this? Closing his eyes again he moaned. There is no way the kids here are so ritzy that they have their own aviary. Oh Kami, please say no. Letting the warm sun soak into his skin, he scowled again. Where had that gust of air come from? It hadn't been windy before. Weird weather. Another irritating thing about this place.

A sudden desperate scratching caught his attention. Turning his head he looked over to the rooftop door. Clicking noise was audible as the door opened out onto the roof. Instead of the person he was expecting to see, a big furry black head stuck its head out. Arfing as its wide puppyish eyes met his. First the bird and now this? Am I at an animal shelter or what? Sighing he motioned to it.

"Hiya boy. C'mere."

Wagging its tail, it hesitatingly made its way over to him, as if it expected to be scolded any moment.

"Where did you come from? Better yet, I hope you're a nice dog."

Shishido asked before muttering the last part under his breath. The dog's eyes turned baleful. A sharp bark followed.

"You do know I don't understand dog right?"

Silence.

"But apparently you understand human so were half-good."

A huff of agreement. Rolling his eyes, Shishido took a chance and reached over to scratch the dog's ears. It froze as if the petting was unexpected, or he couldn't decide whether or not to bite. After a few seconds of scratching behind the ears, he gave in with a strangled growl.

"Do you have an owner? Someone on campus I suppose. You don't have a collar though. But I find it very strange they would allow a stray to come in through the gates. Too uppity here for a mongrel."

Half growl, half bark met his ears.

"What? I didn't say you were a mongrel just that they wouldn't let one in here. Then again, they did let me in. So I suppose anything's possible."

The dog just stared at him. Shishido continued to scratch his ears. He let the quiet rest between them, until the dog nudge his arm. Raising a brow, he regarded it.

"Don't like getting your ears scratched? Most dogs like that. "

Stopping, he heard an almost sigh come from the dog. It was so weird. Getting up, he looked over the railing to the giant clock in the courtyard. Sighed.

"Suppose I should go find my music classroom now. I'm just sure that class will be delightful as the rest."

He turned around and saw the dog stand up, tail wagging, ready to follow him to the ends of the earth. Or Japan. Grunting to himself, Shishido shook his head.

"Even if you are a purebred dog, I'm pretty sure you aren't allowed in the classroom. But go ahead and try if you want. I'll root for you. Got be better than some of the other students."

A particular redhead came to mind for one. The dog barked. Shishido was unsure if it was agreement or a reprimand. Since the dog didn't seem to care for his head being scratched, Shishido reached out to pat his back but ended up getting his rump.

"Rarph!!!!"

The dog yipped, turning his to look at him scandalized_. Jeesh, what's with this dog_? Better yet, what the heck do these people teach their dogs?!

"What?"

Shishido asked the dog, not quite sure why he was asking. The dog just regarded him for another moment, switching paws as if he was embarrassed before running off. Shishido just shook his head.

_Weirdest school ever._

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Bowing respectfully to Seima-sensei, Chotarou backed out of the classroom. Blushing furiously. This afternoon was a mess! He had run off at lunch searching for Shishido-san to see if he had any questions, only to find the guy already gone. Meaning he could be lost, because a senpai had noticed he left alone. And he couldn't find the boy, so…

"Ohtori-kun is something wrong?"

"Huh?!"

Ohtori babbled surprised at the voice behind him. Turning on his heel, he saw Sakaki-sensei observing him with a mixture of exasperation and amusement. Furiously blushing, he tried to think of something to say.

"Sorry Sakaki-sensei! You sc-startled me. I was thinking and didn't hear you. What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in the music department?"

His arms folded over one another, Sakaki's right hand played the absent keys to one of Beethoven's pieces. He was impatient then. A hand was suddenly in front of his face to stop him from continuing his babble.

"Enough. I apologize for frightening you. Is something the matter? You seem to be flustered Ohtori-kun."

"N-no Sensei! I mean, I'm fine."

"Mmmhmmm. If you are positive, I suppose I have no choice but to believe you Ohtori-kun. You are my most honest pupil after all. My reason for being here is to ask you how your tour with Shishido-san went today. "

If anything Chotarou went a deeper shade of red at Sakaki-sensei's words of praise. He hardly deserved them.

"Alright…I think…"

An eyebrow was raised at him.

"Just alright? Not very well?"

Chotarou hangs his head, suddenly very interested in his feet.

"Uuh-w-well, I-I am not sure! I made sure to take him around the school and show him all the buildings, but he didn't really seem to be interested. He mostly wanted to know where his main class was, where the music class was, and where the cafeteria was. Once we got to the class he shooed me off, and told me he didn't want to make me late for class. So I told him I would find him after class to show him where the clubs were. But at Fifth Period when he was taking lunch, I went searching for him, but he completely disappeared. The only way to find him would have been to-"

Ohtori paused. Should he tell Sakaki-sensei he'd actually resorted to it?

"I see. No, it fine that you didn't seek him out at lunch. However why not afterschool like you had agreed?"

Anxious under Sakaki-sensei's gaze, Ohtori tried to clamp down on his need to fidget.

"I made a mistake in German. Seima-sensei assigned me cleaning duty. By the time I finished, I figured he was gone. So-um-I was heading to practice now."

He could feel the stern glare on his neck.

"And why didn't you just ask Seima-sensei for a temporary reprieve since you are supposed to be guiding the new transfer student around? No, never mind. I'll check and see if he's still here."

Holding one hand up to quiet Chotarou, he snapped the fingers of the other one. After a few moments he frowned. Snapped them again. The frown deepened. Chotarou bit his lip to keep from saying anything. Finally, Sakaki-sensei let both hands fall.

"It seems Shishido-san has indeed departed. I expect you to finish guiding him around tomorrow. Offer to help him find a club, and if at all possible get him to join the tennis club. Understood?"

Chotarou nodded.

"Hai sensei."

"Good. You may go to practice now."

With that Sakaki-sensei turned around and walked away. As soon as he was out of sight, Chotarou let out a sigh of relief. Heading in the opposite direction, he walked as fast as his legs could take him to the courts. Hopefully Bucho wouldn't be as annoyed as Sakaki-sensei. Halfway to the courts he ran into Kabaji.

"Hello Kabaji. Did Atobe-bucho send you?"

"Usu."

Nodding, Chotarou worked to keep in line with Kabaji who took longer strides.

"Is he upset that I missed so much practice?"

Kabaji didn't respond, choosing to remain silent.

"Ah, that's good. Today was bad enough without bucho being upset with me."

"Usu"

Was the only response he garnered. Kabaji was such a shy person. It was refreshing. He like Gakuto-senpai, but he could be too boisterous at times.

"HEY! Ohtori! What dirt do you have on the new student? I demand to know it now!"

Now for instance. Chotarou sweatdropped at Gakuto-senpai's actions. He had actually yelled that across the courts…

"Um…hello Muhkai-senpai. Dirt?"

"You know…blackmail…embarrassing material…?"

Chotarou just shook his head at his senpai's questioning. He was saved from answering by Taki-senpai.

"Gakuto…why the heck would Ohtori know that? You know our kohai are too innocent for that…at least Ohtori and Kabaji are…So how are you doing Ohtori?"

"Uh…okay…?"

Chotarou responded to his fun loving senpai.

"Ohtori. Tell Ore-sama about our new transfer student."

Blinking at his Bucho's command, Chotarou glanced around to see all the Regulars gathered around. So he explained the same thing he had to Sakaki-sensei. Finishing, he regarded his Bucho's contemplative expression.

"Why? Is there something I was supposed to do? Did I forget to ask him something?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Atobe regarded him.

"No. We were curious why Sakaki-sensei wanted the Regulars to give him the tour. He isn't one of us, but he may be involved in our culture sometime in the future. Ore-sama thinks it will take time to get information on him. In the meantime, do what Sakaki-sensei advised you to. You're excused from practice until then."

"Hai bucho."

Chotarou said relieved that he hadn't done something wrong again. As he was going to head towards the locker room, Oshitari drawled a not quite question at him.

"At lunch, I thought I heard barking. And the school still forbids bringing dogs on campus. So I assume it was you?"

Freezing in his spot, he flushed a rosy pink. He could feel each and every one of the Regular's eyes on him. Flinching, he whispered,

"H-Hai!"

"That is unusual of you Ohtori. Normally, you are much more responsible than Gakuto about that. Ore-sama demands to know if you had a good reason for doing so. Or if Ore-sama should punish you now."

Biting the inside of his lip, Ohtori blushed some more.

"Bucho's right. You were late to sixth period, and when I did a locator spell I noticed you were in the normal restroom. When you finally made it to class, you seemed completely distracted. It took two periods for you to stop blushing."

"I-I w-wasn't d-distracted!"

He exclaimed highly flustered. Spinning around he saw the various looks of skepticism and knowing grins. Kabaji came over and rested his hand on Chotarou's shoulder. Chotarou threw a light glare at him. Taki shook his head smirking.

"Now, now Ohtori-kun. Our dearest kohai. What have we told you about lying?"

Glaring at the ground, he twisted his foot around. Mutinous, he muttered,

"Leave the lying to senpai-taichi."

Gakuto came over and attempted to pat him on the head.

"Good boy. Now tell us the dirt you have on the new guy."

"I don't have any '_dirt_' on Shishido-san."

"Then why did you feel the need to do **that** during lunch?"

Still pouting, Chotarou glanced around at all his teammates. Atobe gave him the 'now' look.

"Well…I thought Shishido-san might need help finding his way around…and I still needed to finish the tour! So I went to senpai-taichi's class, but he'd already left. I couldn't find him at the cafeteria. So I tried to sn-track him down. But I couldn't find a single trace of where he was! After awhile, I decided the only way to find him was _that_."

His normal creamy complexion was the same hue of as that of an apple.

"And?"

"I managed to track him up to the roof of the physical education building. He was resting there, until he heard me open one of the doors. By then it was too late to go back and change and come back, so I went out on the roof. Like _that_."

A light magenta now, he bit his lip and quit talking. Everyone except Gakuto waited for him to elaborate. Gakuto grinned cattily.

"He tried to pet you didn't he?"

Chotarou flushed a dark magenta. Biting hard on his lip, he refused to say anything. The others just stared in puzzlement. Laughing hysterically, Gakuto tried to speak.

"C'mon! It's not that bad. Sure you would probably want a cute girl and not a guy pet you! But they think you're a dog, what else are they going to do? Stop acting so scandalized!!! It didn't mean anything."

While the others processed what he said, Chotarou reacted.

"I am not a dog Gakuto-senpai! It is not okay! He tried to pat my butt!"

Gakuto started to cackle so hard at the words he tried not to choke. Chotarou who was the same color as a grape now, hid his face in his hands while whimpering overwrought at his predicament. His other senpai had looks of understand and bemusement at his reaction. Hiyoshi was coughing embarrassedly for him, while Kabaji had a small grin. Atobe had to break the silence.

"Ore-sama is glad you to hit it off so well. However, Ore-sama is sure that that is not what Sakaki-sensei meant when he said to take care of the new student."

"Bucho!"

Chotarou shouted aghast while everyone else laughed at his expense.

* * *

^_^ ' Sorry for the long wait!

Poor Chotarou. His senpai are so mean to him.

Thanks for Reading,

False Sourires


End file.
